Crash Landing
by LothCat
Summary: A chance at stealing an Imperial ship during a flubbed mission goes awry, leaving Ezra and Zeb stranded on an uninhabited planet and in the middle of a snowed-over forest. Things go from bad to worse as they discover the ship wasn't even worth stealing, and as Ezra's health starts failing. It's up to Zeb to keep him alive until help can arrive. Gen, sickfic
1. Chapter 1

"This is your fault." Ezra muttered under his breath. It wasn't entirely true, but it felt satisfying to direct the blame at the only other person there when he couldn't hear it.

"What was that?" Zeb flicked an ear his direction, sounding just as put out by the whole situation as Ezra was.

"Nothing." Ezra spoke up and resisted the urge to kick at the hull of the ship. The mission was cursed from the very start.

The Empire was supposed to be unveiling some new weapon with a lot of pomp and circumstance, and the mission was supposed to be simple. Go see the event and try and determine if it was something worth being concerned about or if it was just making a big deal about changing up the paintwork and calling it an improvement. If safe to do so, ruining the event and making the Empire look foolish and ill-prepared was a possibility, but not the primary objective. They were supposed to be dropped off, blend in for a few days, no offworld communications that might raise any short flags. They'd had a contact point outside the city they could com in an emergency, but that was it.

It had taken then nearly half a day after being dropped off to realize something was very off. Even with a few days to go, there should have been signs the Imperial Base was getting ready for an event. Instead there was almost no one, and a little asking around told them the full story. There had been an issue with the main stage not being constructed in time, and the whole thing had been moved one system over. Reactions were mixed between on if people were glad they were gone and annoyed at the loss of potential revenue, but none of that helped them much. There wasn't any good way to contact the Ghost and let everyone know they'd ended up on the wrong planet. And then they saw the Imperial shuttle.

It had seemed like a perfect solution, just steal it, hop a ride to the next system over, complete the mission. It sounded a lot better than just waiting around doing nothing for days just to get picked up and have to tell everyone it was a failure. They'd left a message with their contact, easily stolen the shuttle, and taken off, never once thinking there might have been a very good reason the shuttle was sitting out and mostly unguarded.

The engines had failed not long after they entered hyperspace, falling out into the gravity well of what was thankfully a planet and not a star or worse. It had taken everything to get the shuttle down in one piece. They were stuck on an unknown planet with no ship, no communications, and no apparent civilization anywhere nearby. The only small upside was neither of them had gotten hurt in the crash.

"I guess we need to review our options." Ezra scowled at the shuttle again. It looked intact, but that wasn't saying much. "First, we could set out and look for civilization."

"Assuming there is anything, and assuming we don't get lost, or eaten by something, and assuming we even head in the right direction. Guess we could look for light pollution after dark, unless you've got some sort of Jedi thing to sense the right direction?" Zeb sounded annoyed and sarcastic, and Ezra bit back the urge to snap at him.

"Good idea." Ezra closed his eyes, breathing out and taking a moment to try and calm himself. It was harder than it should be, but after a few long moments he opened them again. "I don't sense anything more intelligent than an animal anywhere nearby."

"So finding help is out. We go with option two, we see if we can rig up a distress beacon and put it somewhere high in hopes of getting a signal out." Zeb started back inside and Ezra cleared his throat.

"Or option three, we get the ship flying again. Even if the hyperdrive's messed up we can't have gotten too far. Then even if we can't make it anywhere in a reasonable time, we'll be in a better position to contact someone, so it's the best of both." Ezra pointed out.

Zeb snorted. "Right, no tools, no parts, no experience, we'll just fix the engines. Easy. "

"Yeah, and sitting around waiting for Imperials to investigate a distress beacon because our own people don't even know we're missing yet is so much better?" Ezra shook his head slightly.

"It's worked before." Zeb pointed out.

"When we knew you were missing, and knew about where to look. Besides, how many times have we done maintenance on the Ghost or Phantom? It can't be that much harder to fix this piece of junk." Ezra shifted on his feet and then started back inside. It didn't feel like it was below freezing, but it was still uncomfortably cold out. The ship might not hold heat for long, but it would block the wind at least.

"Maintenance is one thing, even then we had Chopper helping us. Hera oversaw all the big repairs herself and you know it." Zeb followed him inside. It was dark, but it was a little warmer at least.

"It's still worth trying." Ezra said stubbornly.

"Karabast," Zeb muttered. "Alright, fine, distress signal's not really a two person job anyway. How about I do that, and you fix the engines. And if you somehow magically get the ship flying then we'll need the beacon anyway. Have fun." Zeb left him then, heading up to the cockpit to get the communication equipment out. Ezra scowled at his back and turned, heading towards the engines instead. It wasn't like a shuttle was nearly as complicated as a ship like the Ghost, If Imperials managed to get these things working, it couldn't be that hard.

* * *

Ezra worked stubbornly to restore power to the diagnostics panel. Zeb had left some time before to find a good location for setting up the distress beacon. Having some distance from the downed shuttle would give them time if Imperials or pirates showed up before friendlies did, and there wasn't really anywhere near the shuttle for a ship like the Ghost to land. The area around was forest, the trees had probably cushioned their fall somewhat and there were plenty of downed ones in their wake because of it. He wasn't sure if the crash site would be noticeable from overhead, or if the trees would obscure the shuttle from view. Either way, hopefully it wouldn't matter.

His annoyance at Zeb's lack of confidence provided a nice distraction for a while, but eventually he had to take a break. The shuttle was stocked with a few emergency supplies, but not much, that combined with the supplies they'd brought with them for the mission would give them food for almost a week, maybe longer if they rationed it harder before they had to start foraging. Water was heavier and they didn't have as much, but for now there was clean water he didn't have to purify. He opened up a sealed pouch of it, and dug around in one of his many pockets.

Ezra hadn't admitted it to anyone, but an additional reason for his annoyance had started even before the mission. He'd been feeling like he was coming down with something, but he hadn't wanted to be pulled from the mission over a few pathetic sniffles. He'd worked through much worse back on Lothal, and that was without any sort of reliable source of medication. He'd just grabbed a handful of cold meds from the first aid kit, tucked them into his pockets, and considered the problem solved. He'd either be able to get more or be over the cold soon enough. But either the meds had expired or the cold was more tenacious than he'd expected and he was going through them faster than he liked. He covered his mouth, coughing hard and deep to try and ease the tight feeling in his chest while Zeb was still gone. He took one of the pills, hoping it would be enough and he could take the second before he slept. He didn't know exactly how Zeb would react if he found out he was sick, but he didn't really want to find out. He didn't want Zeb teasing him, or acting like he was weak. With any luck the cold would be over before he had to worry about running out of meds for it.

* * *

Ezra finally decided he was done for the day when he could hear Zeb returning. The engine diagnostic still wasn't powering on, but he was fairly sure he'd found all the broken wires and it was just a matter of splicing them all. He'd keep at it, but his hands were getting less steady as exhaustion was setting in. He wasn't going to risk doing something clumsy and hurting himself and slowing down progress even more. He'd made that mistake often enough on his own before. He sat back, rubbing his hands together to chase away the chill that had settled in them even though his gloves, before he hauled himself up to go looking for Zeb.

Zeb was in the process of yanking the padding off the shuttle's passenger seats. Ezra watched, confused for a minute before it clicked. Trying to sleep sitting up in the seats would be uncomfortable and the padded benches weren't really wide enough for a full grown Lasat, but with the padding off it would work perfectly well to make a mattress of sorts. Better than nothing between Zeb and the hard floor but clothing and thin emergency blankets designed for heat retention instead of thickness.

Zeb finished ripping the padding off one of the chair, adding it to the pile, and then glanced at Ezra.

"Distress signal is set up, as secure as I can make it." Zeb said casually enough. "How's the engine repairs?"

Ezra searched for any sort of mocking in the question and then decided to answer it in good faith. "I've almost got the diagnostic computer up and running. Could use an extra hand holding the glow rod tomorrow if you're done with the beacon. Once it's up we'll have some idea what we're dealing with."

"Should be able to. There's a few things I'd like to get done in case we're stuck here for longer than a few days, but I can take time to hold a glowrod."

Ezra nodded, glad most of the tension seemed to have dissipated now that they'd both had time to cool off and do something productive. He grabbed his share of the emergency blankets, starting to spread them onto one of the benches against the wall "Think you could get me one of those headrests for a pillow?"

"Sure." Zeb wrenched one off a seat, passing it over, and Ezra took it gratefully. "I'm going to grab some grub, want me to grab you one of the packs?"

Ezra shook his head, taking off his boots to start getting under the blankets. "Nah, I'm good." He hadn't eaten anything, and he knew he probably should, but the thought of food left him feeling a little nauseated. It wasn't a big deal, sometimes he spent colds starving and wanting to eat everything in sight, and sometimes it was all he could do to find anything other than water disgusting. He'd eat when he was feeling better. "Going to try and sleep already."

"Alright. Just don't complain about me waking you up when I come back to sleep." Zeb took his own glow rod with him as he headed up towards the store room and Ezra hesitated before he switched off his own. The sudden darkness with only the dim light from Zeb's glowrod across the shuttle main area made it suddenly seem colder and creepier. He fought down the urge to turn the glowrod back on, it would only drain the power cells down for when he might need the light later. The urge to cough made him fumble in his pockets again, finding the packet with the single pill and the half empty water pouch by feel. He furtively swallowed it, draining the rest of the lukewarm water and then laying back, trying to get comfortable.

Ezra was still awake when Zeb came back, keeping his eyes closed and feigning sleep. The bench was harder than his bed back on the Ghost and the shuttle was cold, it seemed like no matter how well he'd tucked the blankets around any little shift of movement let heat escape and the cold in. Not that there was much room to move on the narrow bench, turning over involved as much scooting to stay in place and not fall off as it did turning. He was used to having room to move away from the wall at the side of his bunk if he wanted to stretch out a knee or elbow that direction. No matter how much he tried to berate himself for getting spoiled and remind himself that he'd slept in a lot worse places over the years, his body refused to listen and start finding the bench comfortable.

Ezra shifted a little, trying to curl up without anything hanging over the edge or digging uncomfortably into the wall or letting more cold air in before he gave up, laying stiffly in the least uncomfortable position. He turned his head a little, staring at the darkness in the direction he could faintly hear Zeb's snores coming from. The temptation was there to get up, tell Zeb the benches were too hard and to make room, they were sharing the chair padding nest. Zeb certainly didn't seem to have any problem falling asleep on it, after all. But after an internal debate his pride won out and he gritted his teeth, resolutely trying to relax and get some rest.

* * *

"Hold the light a little more to the left." Ezra muttered, trying not to fumble as he carefully spliced the broken wires back together. One of the panels had come loose in the crash and fell on them, cutting power to the diagnostic computer.

"Right." Zeb shifted the glowrod to illuminate the wires better, as Ezra was finally satisfied with the contact he'd made and started wrapping them in repair tape.

It was harder than it should have been, Ezra had taken a full dose of cold meds with a few bite of ration bar for breakfast, which was all he was able to stomach. Even with them in his system he had to fight the urge to cough every time he spoke, taking shallow breaths when it felt like someone had clamped some kind of metal band around his ribs. He'd barely slept, making due with meditation when real sleep was denied him. It made him feel a little more rested at first, but Kanan had warned him before that it wasn't a substitute for real sleep and already his energy was flagging. He'd already resolved that once he was done with this he was going to try and take a nap in the padding nest.

"There." Ezra tried to sound normal as he leaned back. "Here goes nothing." He leaned over to turn on the computer, grinning when it powered up.

"Good work." Zeb handed him the glowrod to switch off. "I'm going to go check on the distress signal, want to come with?"

Ezra shook his head. "Nah, I'm going to stay here and wait for the diagnostic." He started the computer running, knowing it would take a while to scan all the system sensors and generate a report. It didn't really need to be watched, but it made an easy excuse to avoid a hike through the woods.

"Suit yourself." Zeb sounded none the worse for wear after his night on the floor and Ezra envied his ability to fall asleep in any situation like an overgrown loth-cat.

"Maybe I'll have some good news for you when you get back." Ezra said, getting a snort from Zeb.

"Hope for sun, plan for hail, eh? I'll be back in about 40." Zeb made his way out the open ramp. The hydraulics were powerless, but Zeb was strong enough to force the matter. It helped that the shuttle was laying on its belly rather than any sort of landing gear, meaning he only needed to force out the ramp enough to get the doors open.

"Don't get into any trouble." Ezra rubbed over the front of his chest as Zeb lazily waved without looking back. He made his way to one of the chairs that hadn't been stripped to make the nest, flopping down and waiting on the report.

* * *

The computer beep brought Ezra out of a fitful doze, rubbing over his face and trying unsuccessfully to shake off the clinging haze of sleep as he stumbled to the computer to read the report. And then read it again in hopes he was mistaken.

Total engine failure, they had been lucky they hadn't exploded, but it was hard to feel lucky. And most depressing, according to the previous logs the shuttle had been in maintenance for a slow fuel leak that had been logged and a request put in for a repair a dozen times. Each time the shuttle had just been topped off before use and the repair pushed back again until the leak had done enough damage to the engine components to make repairs unfeasible. The shuttle had been slated to be towed off for scrap before they showed up. It meant he didn't even have a shot at trying to get basic systems like heating and lights online, even with the tiny power drain of the computer the estimated power remaining was less than a week. The cells wouldn't last a day with the heavier drain on them, making any efforts to get them online not worth the time. Ezra kicked the panel beside the computer, cursing a little breathlessly.

"Something tells me that's not good news." Zeb spoke up. Ezra hadn't even heard him come in.

"Shuttle was headed for the scrap heap before we even took the thing. We just sped up the process a little." Ezra was too tired and talking was too much of a struggle to try and tell the whole story, so he motioned at the computer where the report was still glowing red like some sort of ill omen.

Zeb stepped over to glance over it himself, shaking his head. "Good thing we went ahead with my plan then, eh?" He sounded smug.

Ezra knew Zeb was just trying to get a rise out of him, but he was tired and he wanted to sleep, he wanted to stop feeling quite so awful, and the smug teasing rubbed him the wrong way. He scowled, drawing in a breath to retort, and then jerking as his entire chest felt like it seized up. He coughed hard, unable to stop it, and each deep breath in just made his chest feel even tighter. He was dimly aware he'd doubled over, one arm braced against the wall as he wheezed and fought to get his breathing under control.

"Ezra!" Zeb was there before he even saw him move, one huge hand supporting his chest and the other rubbing over his back. Ezra wasn't sure if the touch was hurting or helping, but with the coughing fit there was no chance at getting any words out.

Finally after what seemed like a small eternity Ezra was able to fight off the drowning feeling, even if every shallow breath felt like he was struggling to breathe through little foam packing pellets. His legs felt weak under him and he started sliding down, unable to brace himself, only to be caught up in Zeb's arms.

Zeb cursed, pressing his hand against Ezra's cheek. "You're burning up. How long have you been feeling sick?"

Ezra tried to make a small sound and then Zeb shook his head. "Don't talk yet, I'm an idiot. Just… just keep breathing, alright?"

Ezra nodded a little breathlessly.

"Karabast, what are we going to do?" For the first time since they'd crashed, Zeb sounded scared. Ezra wished he had an answer.


	2. Chapter 2

Zeb held Ezra cradled against his chest as he tried to figure out what to do next. Ezra didn't seem to be in any hurry to demand to be put down. Finally Ezra stirred a little, speaking quietly.

"Water?" Ezra sounded a little breathless, like he was afraid of setting off another coughing fit.

"Right. Good idea." Zeb just took him with him, back to where the water pouches were stored. He set Ezra down on his feet gingerly, glad when Ezra stayed steady, handing him one of the pouches. Ezra dug around in one of his pockets, finally coming up with a packet of pills, taking the two out to swallow with the water pouch.

"I hope those kick in soon." Zeb relaxed a tiny bit, if Ezra had medication for whatever was wrong then things weren't as bad as he feared.

"Me too." Ezra took a shaky breath. "Hope they work at all. They're for a cold, but I've never had a cold get this bad."

Zeb nodded, putting a hand on Ezra's back. "For now just take it easy and rest."

Ezra nodded, starting back towards where they'd slept before. "Could I use your bed? The bench's too narrow."

"Go ahead." Zeb waited until Ezra sunk down tiredly into the nest of seat padding and emergency blankets before grabbing the ones Ezra had used the night before, spreading them over the ill human.

The previous day had been warm enough while the sun was up, above freezing if the damp ground and stubborn patches of snow only clinging to deeply shadowed places was any indication, but that day had dawned overcast and the chill of the night before only seemed to deeper. Zeb wasn't sure if snow signs were the same on all planets, but if this had been Lasan he would have bet his bo-rifle on them being snow clouds. That might end up being a good thing, he'd bet on snow being cleaner and safer to melt into drinking water than trying to purify water from the creek he'd found.

Zeb placed Ezra's com within easy reach. "I'm going to go check on the distress signal. Com me if there's anything you need and I'll come back."

"How about a fully functional and fueled up ship capable of getting us off this rock?" Ezra mumbled, managing a small smile.

Zeb chuckled, reaching out to stroke over Ezra's hair. "I left that in my other bag."

"Figures." Ezra closed his eyes, shivering and bundling down further in the blankets. Zeb tried not to feel guilty as he left.

* * *

The beacon was just how he left it, his com confirmed that it was still giving off a signal even if he couldn't be entirely sure how far it would reach. Theoretically it should reach far enough to be detected in an orbital sweep, if not further, but there was no way to test that. It was sheltered from the snow Zeb was now certain would be coming and it didn't look like any animals had disturbed it. Zeb hurried back to the downed ship, telling himself it was just to get in out of the wind and get things ready for the snowfall. It wasn't that he thought Ezra was going to suddenly get worse as soon as he was out of his sight, he just liked to be certain.

Ezra was sleeping when he returned and Zeb hoped it was a good sign. He slept all through Zeb carefully detaching some of the interior panels and hauling them out to lay out to catch the snow. It was flurrying lightly by the time he finished, the tiny flakes starting to dust the cold metal without melting, and Zeb hurried back inside. He wished he could light a fire in the ship, it would be easy enough to make a clear space for it, but with nowhere to go the smoke would choke them even if Ezra wasn't already having trouble with a cough.

Ezra looked to still be asleep, but when he went to check on him he stirred, looking up blearily.

"H-hey." Ezra covered his mouth, coughing harshly. "Is it getting colder?"

"Started snowing a little bit ago, yeah." Zeb lowered himself to sit on the nest, it was big enough to share even if Ezra wasn't tucked up into a ball.

"Figures." Ezra shivered and Zeb reached to rub over his back as Ezra coughed again. After a moment he moved his hand up, pressing the back of it where the fur wasn't as thick to Ezra's cheek. He could feel the heat far too clearly, even if he had been out in the cold Ezra shouldn't feel quite so hot to the touch.

"We'll stay warm enough in here, and snowmelt'll be good for water." Zeb tried to sound optimistic.

"Maybe you're warm enough, it's freezing in here." Ezra muttered, shivering hard enough Zeb could hear his teeth chatter.

"It's the fever. Don't suppose there's anything in the on ship med kit for a fever?" Zeb rubbed over Ezra's back again, wishing he knew what to do. The only thing he knew to do for serious illness or injury was to turn the person over to medical professionals. It was probably the smart choice when it was an option, but it hardly helped them now.

"No, already ch-checked." Ezra curled up a little tighter with a half stifled cough.

Zeb wished he knew if he was going to make a mistake like this. If the problem was Ezra being too hot from fever, would cooling him down help with the symptoms? But if the fever was in response to whatever was wrong with him then trying to cool him down might make him worse. He hesitated, and then decided that with the chill in the downed shuttle keeping him warm seemed the safest option. He started tugging the blankets a little, getting into the nest.

"W-what are you d-doing?" Ezra stuttered a little as he shivered, trying to keep the blankets tucked tight around him.

"Sharing the bed." Zeb settled down beside him, only stealing enough of the blankets to share so he wouldn't get chilled laying still as he settled an arm over Ezra. Actually holding him it was almost surprising how small he was, humans were generally much smaller than Lasat anyway, and Ezra wasn't exactly large for a human. For a minute he worried he was squishing him, but his fears seemed to be baseless when Ezra tucked up closer with a small cough.

Zeb took that as a good sign, tucking the blankets in around them both as Ezra pressed close and shivered helplessly, shaking hard enough that Zeb's own muscles ached in sympathy. There wasn't anything he knew to do other than offer what small comfort he could as Ezra suffered through it.

It was hard to tell the passage of time in the dim light that made it in from outside, but eventually Ezra's shivering eased up and he laid there, obviously exhausted.

* * *

"Have you ever been sick like this before?" Zeb hated to let Ezra in on the fact he didn't know what he was supposed to be doing with a sick human, but he could suck it up.

"No, I mean, not this bad. Been hurt before, and minor colds and stuff." Ezra picked listlessly at the food Zeb had shoved in front of him, glancing up at him and then back down to take another small bite. Zeb was glad he'd only given him a small amount, even if it hardly seemed like a fraction of what he needed to keep his strength up.

"What did you do to get better then?" Zeb was glad Ezra had stopped shivering like he was going to fly apart, but he didn't look much better. He was still too pale, even accounting for the dim light from the glow rod, except for the bright flush of his cheeks.

"Rested? I mean that's about it. Wasn't much else I could do. I mean on the ship I usually take painkillers or whatever and keep going, just take it a little easy when I can." Ezra turned his head to cough into his hand, finally managing the last bite of ration bar. Zeb decided against trying to get him to eat anything else.

"Then keep resting. I can handle everything. When we get back though, you're talking all my chores for… a week maybe. You can pay me back then." Zeb stood up, going to the supply packs they'd brought, starting to rummage through them.

"That would only count if I was choosing to be lazy." Ezra protested.

"Says who?" Zeb tried to keep things light, even if he didn't like not knowing what to do.

"Says me, and I'm sick, you need to listen to me, right?" Ezra smiled, settling down in the blankets and squirming to get comfortable.

"Whatever, Karabast you're smug when you're sick." Zeb grinned back. "And the rest of the time." He finally found what he was looking for, Ezra's lightsaber tucked away at the bottom of the bag where he'd put it for safekeeping after the crash.

"I'm not smug, I'm just right. What are you doing anyway?" Ezra peered at him through the dim light, suddenly frowning. "Is that my lightsaber?"

"Yeah, know anything better for cutting up firewood? Need a fire to melt the snow quick so I can refill the water pouches." Zeb clipped it to his belt. "Don't worry, I'm doing it outside, not going to smoke up this place."

"If it wasn't for the smoke a fire would be warm at least. Just… be careful, and don't cut your arm off. Or set anything on fire that you don't mean to." Ezra cautioned him. "And don't break it."

"You worry too much." Zeb waved a hand. He wouldn't try to fight with Ezra's lightsaber, but just cutting up things with it didn't take anything more than a steady hand.

* * *

Collecting the clean snow, melting it over the fire, and then pouring it into the empty water pouches took most of the day. While it was harder to tell time with the sky overcast it was getting darker by the time Zeb reluctantly put the fire out. The pouches might freeze if he couldn't keep them warm enough inside the ship, but they were designed not to burst if that happened. Zeb collected them all, heading back inside the ship. He put the lightsaber hilt back into

Ezra was where he'd left him, sleeping restlessly and coming awake the moment Zeb touched his cheek to try and see if his fever had gone down any.

"We've got fresh water. Want me to try it first so you can see it's not deadly?" Zeb patted the top of Ezra's head lightly.

"I trust you." Ezra smiled a little.

"Good." Zeb tucked some of the water pouches into the bedding where they'd be close as hand and stay thawed before he started getting into the pile of bedding.

"Guess we're sharing tonight?" Ezra scooted over a little as Zeb rearranged the blankets.

"Any objections?" Zeb settled down beside him.

"No, it's warmer with both of us." Ezra turned his head, coughing. "Just… know I'm not a good roommate right now."

"Not like you're trying to be annoying." Zeb reached to rub over Ezra's side, listening to him cough. Then he leaned in closer, putting the side of his head against Ezra's chest.

"What are you doing?" Ezra asked after a moment.

"Shut up and take a deep breath." Zeb instructed him, listening. Ezra took a slow breath and Zeb was admittedly not an expert on how it should sound, but he was fairly sure the wet crackling sound wasn't normal.

"How does it sound?" Ezra stifled a cough, only speaking when Zeb started pulling away.

"Like breathing. Get some sleep." Zeb settled down in the bedding, waiting for Ezra to squirm around and get comfortable tucked up beside him. He could at least listen for any changes now, and there wasn't a reason to worry him.

"Gee, that's useful." Ezra grumbled, but he closed his eyes. Zeb turned out the glow rod, leaving them both in the dark.

* * *

Zeb slept in short bursts, he'd drop off only to wake up when Ezra would cough, sometimes just a short harsh bark of noise, sometimes a fit that would leave him gasping and shallowly panting at the end of it. Zeb always waited until he heard Ezra's breathing return to normal, or as normal as it was going to get, before he let himself relax back to sleep.

He'd hoped that there would be some sign of improvement by morning, something to let him know Ezra had passed the worst of it. But if anything, Ezra seemed even more exhausted than he had the previous evening and when Zeb pressed his ear to his chest and told him to take a deep breath it sounded just as wet and crackly as before.

"Hang in there." Zeb spoke quietly, finding one of the containers of water he'd stashed around the nest to keep them from freezing. He shook it to make sure it was mostly full, helping Ezra sit up and holding it to his lips.

Ezra sipped slowly, small mouthfuls between shallow breaths. "I don't really have much of a choice, do I?"

"Nope. Up for anything to eat?" Zeb wasn't terribly surprised when Ezra shook his head. The Imperial ration packs weren't exactly exciting even at the best of times, and he didn't know much of a way to make them more appealing. "Try and get some more sleep if you can, I'll take care of everything."

Zeb had guessed the time by feel, and then sunlight when he stepped out confirmed his guess. It was clear, no idea how long until more snow fell, but the air warming up seemed like a good thing as far as Ezra was concerned. Checking on things both took him far too long away from Ezra's side, and weren't nearly long enough to distract him. The distress beacon was still safe and working and he checked for any sign any large dangerous predators might have been around before he returned to the dark ship. He tried not to feel guilty when he ate, starving himself wouldn't make Ezra any better, and finally he ran out of excuses, settling on the edge of the nest. Ezra was sitting up, hunched over in a sitting position and wrapped up in the blankets.

"Couldn't sleep?" Zeb asked, reaching to brush Ezra's hair back from his forehead and take a guess at his temperature.

"I cough less when I'm sitting up." Ezra admitted tiredly. "Can't sleep laying down, can't sleep sitting up."

"Here, lean against me then." It wasn't much, but Zeb felt like he was at least doing something when he could pull Ezra close enough to lean against his side, supporting him. "Shouldn't be too much longer before someone finds us, we're not that far out of the way and by now they know we're missing."

"If anyone comes looking for us." Ezra murmured, and Zeb's ear twitched.

"Of course they're going to come looking for us, why wouldn't they?" Zeb asked.

"Because no one does. You take care of yourself, because no one ever comes back. Ever." It was hard to tell with how breathless Ezra sounded and how his words were punctuated by choked back coughs, but he sounded almost slurred. Zeb hoped it was just exhaustion from lack of restful sleep.

"Don't lie like that. We always come back for each other. What about hauling me off that frozen moon?" Zeb spoke lightly, wanting to reassure Ezra.

"Kanan didn't want to. Kanan kept saying we should stop looking, you were probably gone. I kept saying we needed to keep looking, but…" Ezra trailed off, and Zeb wasn't sure if it was a loss for words or just being too tired to keep talking.

"Alright, even if he doesn't want to come after me, you really think he's leaving you behind? Karabast, second time we met was hauling you off a Star Destroyer, remember?" Zeb lightly patted Ezra's back, hoping for Ezra to point out that of course he remembered getting punched in the face. He tried not to think about how close the vote had been, the important thing was they'd always gone back. Kanan had voted to go after Ezra then.

"He didn't want to go back for me." Ezra said quietly, sounding so hurt and sure of it that Zeb was a little taken aback.

"Why would you think a thing like that? That's the fever talking." Zeb grumbled, tugging the blankets up a little more around Ezra's shoulders.

"He told me." Ezra sounded sad, but sure of himself.

"He told you he didn't want to come back for you? Doesn't sound much like the Kanan I know." Zeb tried to reassure him, and not let his own doubts creep in. How many times had Kanan dismissed sentiment in the face of the more rational choice?

"Told me it's not the Jedi way. He let me steal the holocron to test me, I wasn't supposed to leave the ship with it, it could have fallen into Imperial hands, he had to go back for it. I was just… a good excuse." The words came tumbling out like they'd been held back for far too long and Ezra was trembling. Zeb couldn't tell if it was more chills or just emotional reaction at this point. "He can't care about me and be a good Jedi."

"Then forget about Kanan. He talks big, but don't forget who the Captain is. Hera will keep looking for us, Sabine too. Bet no matter how Kanan complained about leaving me behind on that moon she wouldn't listen, eh? We're getting out of here." Zeb squeezed Ezra closer for a moment, not wanting to hurt him but needing him to know he was there.

"Alright." Ezra sounded more like he was too tired to keep arguing than he was at all convinced, and Zeb took it as a small victory. At least until Ezra started coughing again, deep wracking coughs that left him doubled over and wheezing. Zeb kept quiet, helping Ezra to lean over outside the blankets to spit out the gunk he'd coughed up, offering him water when it sounded like he was done. He tried hard to fight back the nagging thought if the Ghost didn't show up soon, it wouldn't matter if he was right or not, at least not for Ezra.

* * *

Zeb spent the rest of the day sitting in the bedding, holding Ezra leaning up against him to try and keep him comfortable. Ezra seemed to drift between actual sleep and a quiet daze. Sometimes he mumbled things that didn't fully make sense, but Zeb told himself it was just sleep talking and made soothing sounds that seemed to be all Ezra needed in reply.

There was a moment of panic when Zeb gently wiped gunk from around Ezra's mouth after a series of painful sounding coughs and the mucus was tinged red. He brought the glow rod closer to confirm, tilting Ezra's face into the light. He didn't start to calm down until he saw that Ezra's lips had cracked and split in the cold, dry air. That at least he could do some small thing about, leaving him just long enough to find the meager ship's med kit. There was ointment in there that was intended for minor cuts and burns, but he knew it worked just as well on chapped skin. He rubbed it on, trying to be gentle, before returning to just holding Ezra. He tried to attribute the fact Ezra didn't even stir at having his face poked to him being careful, and not that Ezra seemed to be getting harder to rouse.

There were a dozen things Zeb could think of if they were going to stay there longer. Better shelter for one, he could likely use some of the metal from the ship to make a rough stove for warmth, some sort of better water purification storage, foraging for food. He'd done enough survival training not to worry overly much about his own abilities. The planet was cold, but it was hardly a frozen wasteland, normally he wouldn't be concerned even if it might take months to be rescued. Now though, he wasn't sure Ezra had months. There was nothing he could do but keep Ezra warm, as comfortable as possible, and wait for rescue.

Zeb was so focused on Ezra's labored breathing that he almost missed the quiet chirp of the com unit.


	3. Chapter 3

"This is The Ghost, is anyone receiving?" Hera's voice was one of the best things Zeb had heard in a very long time.

"Zeb here. Karabast, what took you so long?" Zeb tried not to sound like as much of an emotional mess as he felt.

"Maybe it has something to do with the fact you decided to take off without bothering to ask permission and then didn't end up where you said you were going?" Hera chastised him.

"Seemed like a good idea at the time. How soon can you get here? There's a clear area to land where I set the beacon. We're ready to be off this rock." Zeb hesitated, considering telling her about Ezra's condition, and then deciding to wait. There wasn't anything they could do until they landed and he didn't want to waste time trying to answer worried questions.

"Give me just a few minutes." Hera replied.

"Got it, we're a ways from the site, we'll be there soon. Zeb out." Zeb clipped the com to his belt, breathing in and trying to center himself. Throughout the exchange Ezra had barely stirred and Zeb eased him over to lean on some of the padding while he got up.

It was quick work to pack the few things they wanted to keep, grabbing both bags with their supplies. Most of the Imperial junk wasn't worth keeping, but Zeb did wrap Ezra securely in the emergency blankets before he hoisted him up into his arms.

Ezra quietly protested the movement, tucking his face against Zeb's shoulder and coughing weakly. He was doing that more, and while it was easier to listen to than the ones that shook his whole body and brought up phlegm, Zeb was fairly doubtful that it was a good sign.

"Told you we're getting out of here." Zeb informed Ezra, trying to sound optimistic as he slung both bags over his shoulder and stepped out into the cold. It was dazzlingly bright after the dim insides, the sun reflecting off the white snow, and Zeb squinted as he set off at a brisk trot, heading towards the beacon.

It still felt like it took far too long to make the journey, even if it wasn't actually a strain to carry both Ezra and the supplies. Seeing the Ghost with its ramp down and waiting was a welcome sight and Zeb shifted Ezra a little more securely in his arms as he headed for it.

Kanan and Sabine were both at the ramp waiting for them, body language shifting from welcome to concern.

"What happened?" Sabine was the first to speak. "You didn't say anything about injuries." Her tone shifted to faintly accusatory.

"Not injured, sick. Fever, cough, can't breathe." Zeb summed things up quickly. "Didn't want to waste time over the com when it wasn't like you could have gotten here any faster."

Kanan stepped closer to press his hand to Ezra's cheek, then he cursed softly. "We're going to need to find a med center."

"I'll disable the distress beacon." Sabine volunteered "Don't really want to leave that going off, even if we're long gone."

"Do it." Kanan said, hesitating like he wasn't sure if he wanted to try and take Ezra from Zeb or not.

"Where should I put Ezra? Our room?" Zeb pulled away a little, going to the ladder up. He could climb it one handed and it was faster than taking the long way around.

"Put him in mine, there's more space." Kanan picked up his com, no doubt to update Hera on the situation. Zeb didn't stay to hear her reaction, heading on up with Ezra. 

* * *

Zeb couldn't find anything to prop Ezra up with right away and he ended up just sitting on Kanan's bed, holding Ezra up against his chest. He felt weirdly jittery, they were rescued and everything should be fine, but it wasn't. He hadn't even let himself consider the possibility that Ezra might not be ok once they made it back to the Ghost, but the worry in Kanan's voice when he said they were going to need to get to a med center left him shaken.

"We're meeting up with one of the medical ships in the fleet after a short jump." Kanan didn't bother to knock as he came in, then again that made sense, it was his room after all.

"Good." Zeb hesitated a moment, then felt compelled to try and explain a little. "There wasn't anything I knew to do for him back there other than try to keep him warm and comfortable. No medicine in the med kit they had on board the shuttle we stole."

"I'm sure you did fine. We don't even have the supplies to deal with pneumonia here on the Ghost, and we've got a lot more medical supplies on hand than most ships." Kanan assured him.

Ezra stirred a little then, Zeb wasn't sure if he was finally waking up, but all he did was cough pitifully, sounding exhausted. Kanan reached out, rubbing over his back and then frowning. He tugged the blankets away from Ezra's chest, leaning in to listen to his breathing like Zeb had done before.

"Here, lay him down." Kanan straightened up and nudged Ezra forward.

"He can't breathe laying down." Zeb protested.

"He can't cough the junk out of his lungs as well sitting up. It'll just be for a minute." Kanan sounded like he knew what he was doing, and Zeb reluctantly complied, shifting Ezra to lay on his belly across his lap.

Kanan grabbed a towel out of a drawer, placing it by Ezra's head and then rubbing his back.

"Cough for me, come on Ezra, you'll breathe a little easier." Kanan urged.

Ezra made a soft whining sound, eyes half open as he struggled to take a deep breath laying down. Kanan placed his hand on his upper back, brows narrowed in concentration. Ezra choked a little and then coughed harder than he had in hours, his whole body tensing and jerking with the force of it. Zeb belatedly realized what the towel was for, letting Kanan work and holding it up for Ezra to cough the gunk into, wiping his mouth when he stopped to gasp for breath. Kanan took his hand away then and Zeb tugged Ezra back upright. After a moment he used the back of his hand to subtly scrub over Ezra's cheeks. He wasn't sure how aware Ezra was of everything right now, but Zeb doubted he wanted to have everyone seeing him with tear tracks down his face from the painful coughing.

"That's supposed to be a technique for drowning victims, but it seemed like it should work for any fluid in the lungs. It's not perfect, but I think it should help a little until we can get him real medical care." Kanan quietly explained.

"Makes sense." Zeb couldn't be entirely sure, but it did seem like Ezra was able to breathe a little easier, if that wasn't wishful thinking.

Sabine tapped lightly on the door frame as she let herself in. "Beacon's disabled and I found this." She held up a mask and small tank. "Oxygen tank for low-oxygen atmo, it should help."

"Good thinking, Sabine." Kanan took the mask and tank from her, placing the mask over Ezra's nose and mouth and adjusting the strap, making sure the oxygen was on and flowing.

"You should take some time to get cleaned up." Sabine nodded to Zeb. "It'll be about an hour before we meet up with the fleet so you've got time."

Zeb started to protest and then paused, unable to come up with a good reason. Kanan and Sabine obviously knew more about this than he did and other than being able to carry Ezra more easily than they could there wasn't much reason for him to be there. Still, after worrying about Ezra for so long it was hard to just walk away and take care of himself, even if it was the reasonable thing to do.

"You're right, Kanan can watch 'em for a while, right?" Zeb tried not to sound like it was a big deal.

"I'll keep a close eye on him." Kanan sat down, reaching out to take Ezra and Zeb passed him over, taking care not to jar the mask on his face, before he stood up.

"It's good to have you back, big guy," Sabine said earnestly. "Both of you."

"It's good to be back." Zeb clasped her shoulder gently on his way out to the 'fresher. 

* * *

Zeb hadn't realized exactly how filthy he'd gotten during the days on planet. Surviving had been more important than cleaning up, and it showed. Taking his jumpsuit out of the cleaning unit and pulling it on over clean fur was a welcome relief, and with that taken care of he looked longingly at the galley. He was looking forward to food other than cold ration bars, but first he couldn't resist the urge to check in on Ezra.

Zeb wasn't the only one, Hera had left the cockpit and looked to be trying to wash Ezra face clean around the oxygen mask. She glanced up when Zeb appeared in the doorway, and then dipped the cloth again, wringing it out to press against Ezra's forehead.

"The fleet knows we're coming and I told the medical ship what to expect. He'll be fine once we get him there." Hera said, sounding like she was trying to reassure herself as much as Zeb.  
"That's good." Zeb stepped closer as Ezra squirmed some, like he was trying to get away from the face cloth.

"Lemmie alone, jus' want to sleep." Ezra slurred, muffled by the mask but sounding better than he had before, coughing roughly after he spoke.

"You can sleep all you want later." Zeb said, feeling a little more hopeful. Hera's com chirped and she stood up.

"That would be the warning that we're about to come out of hyperspace. I'll go take the controls." Hera clarified, laying the cloth down as she straightened up.

"I can carry him out if you want a break, Zeb." Kanan said, readjusting Ezra where he'd slid down a little against his chest.

"Eh, no big deal, I'll get him onto the medical ship." Zeb tried not to sound too insistent. "I've seen you try and carry him before, doubt it'd be too comfortable to be slung over your shoulder like a sack for the trip."

"I was in a hurry then." Kanan protested, smiling a little. "But if you're sure you're up for it."

"I'm used to doing the heavy lifting around here." Zeb grinned back, trying not to worry.

"We're here, starting docking procedures now." Hera's voice came over the intercom. Zeb leaned down to easily lift Ezra back up into his arms. Kanan grabbed the oxygen tank before the tube could pull tight, gently ruffling through Ezra's unwashed hair.

"Hear that? This is all almost over. Some boring time in a medical bay and you'll be good as new." Kanan sounded confident and Zeb hoped he knew what he was talking about. 

* * *

Medical workers were just inside the docking entrance with a raised hoverbed. Zeb laid Ezra down carefully and they didn't waste any time whisking him away. The whole thing felt very anti-climactic, with nothing left to do but wait. Zeb wasn't a big fan of waiting.

He'd barely stepped back onto the ship and the airlock closed when an alarm started blaring. Zeb cursed, scrambling to keep his footing as the ship lurched as Hera gunned it to get clear of the medical ship. Kanan stumbled against him and then found his balance. "I'll get to the lower turret."

"I'll take the top." Zeb didn't even have time to think, striding away to haul himself up the ladder. Alarms like that could only mean one thing, an Imperial attack, and they needed to buy time for the more vulnerable ships to make the jump.

He threw himself into the seat, looking for targets. "What happened?" Zeb growled into the open com.

"Someone else's ship came in hot with a busted hyperdrive, we need to buy time for them to dock for a jump." Hera said tightly and Zeb started looking for targets, concentrating on turning the TIEs into so much space dust.

One by one the larger ships winked out away from the battle. Zeb took aim at another TIE right as the starts stretched out and they made the jump with the rest of the fleet.

It was a short jump, Zeb barely had time to get down out of the turret and make his way to the cockpit before they were reentering normal space. He scanned out the viewport, frowning when there weren't as many ships as he expected.

"Where's the medical ship?" Zeb knew it had jumped before they did, it should already be there.

Hera tapped quickly on the controls, checking the signals of all the nearby ships. "It's not here."

.

* * *

.

Author Note: Thank you so much for all the fantastic comments so far! I read and love all of them and they really do help encourage me to keep writing. There should be one more chapter to go, and for planning future fics please feel free to go to my profile and vote at the poll at the top. I'd love to know for future sickfic which characters you love to see sick and who you like taking care of them.


	4. Chapter 4

Ezra woke slowly, opening his eyes in the dim light to stare at an unfamiliar ceiling. Memorizes came hazily and disjointed, he remembered being trapped with the downed shuttle and getting sick, but after that his memories were much more suspect. It was hard to tell for sure which were real and which were fever dreams. He thought he could remember bits and pieces of the rest of the Ghost crew being there, but he couldn't tell if that was just wishful thinking.

After a long moment of trying to gather his thoughts he realized that his surroundings meant only one of two things, either he was in a Rebellion medical facility, or he was in an Imperial one. Knowing his luck he guessed it was the latter, especially when nothing around the room seemed to indicate that it was a Rebellion facility. There were just a few other beds, all empty, and various pieces of medical equipment and recharging droids. Ezra took a deep breath, and then realized belatedly that he could. He no longer struggled for every breath, feeling like a tight band was wrapped around his chest restricting his breathing. He still felt tired, and hauling himself out of bed took more effort than he would have liked. But he knew he had to escape capture and the sooner he could get moving the less likely it was the Imperials would be ready for it. He wasn't entirely sure where his clothes were, but the simple plain shirt and shorts he was in would be enough. He could worry about finding more suitable clothing later.

Ezra tried the door, locked, but it was one of the simple ones he could have picked even before Kanan started training him. It only took a brief mental twist and then he was quickly slipping through the doors, prepared to run.

An empty hall greeted him and he stopped short, looking back and forth. He would have thought there would be guards posted outside the medical wing if he was a prisoner, but he was alone.

"Ezra, Ezra Bridger!" An unfamiliar voice called out and Ezra turned as an older man hurried down the hall.

Ezra braced himself against the wall with a hand, relieved that even if he didn't recognize the person he wasn't in any Imperial uniform that he'd ever seen. "Who are you? Where am I?"

"You're safe, you're on the _Caladrius_ , a Rebellion medical ship. I'm Doctor Hamada, I've been overseeing your care."

"Where is everyone?" Ezra could feel his legs starting to tremble, his energy running out a great deal faster than he thought it would.

"It's the middle of the night, ship's time. Most people are asleep," the doctor stepped around him to open the door back to the room he'd just left.

Ezra hesitated, then started back inside. He felt a little foolish for the escape attempt, but it wasn't like he had any good evidence that he wasn't being held captive.

"Your ship will be docking back with us in a few hours, you should try to get some more rest," the doctor spoke kindly, as Ezra made his way over and sank onto the bed with a sigh of relief at no longer being upright.

"And when they're here, I can leave?" Ezra asked.

"I don't see why not. All the infection has been cleared from your lungs. You'll need to take it easy for a few days, but you can do that on your own ship just as easily," Doctor Hamada explained.

Ezra blinked, he'd known he had gotten very sick there by the end, but he hadn't thought it was quite that bad. No wonder he'd felt so awful. "I had pneumonia?"

"You did. Now if you wake up again without someone here and you need anything, there's a call button beside the bed. We prefer it to our patients heading out into the halls looking for someone," the doctor said lightly.

Ezra almost admitted he hadn't been looking for someone so much as an escape route, but there wasn't really a need to be quite that honest. "I'll keep that in mind."

* * *

The too familiar sound of Kanan loudly arguing with someone cut through Ezra's slumber. He started to try and shove his head under the pillow to drown it out, before waking up enough to remember exactly where he was and what was going on. He sat upright at that, looking around.

Kanan, with Zeb looming just behind him, was arguing with someone at the door who seemed to be trying to block him from coming in. Ezra was confused, just staring at the scene before Zeb interrupted whatever the person was trying to say.

"See? He's awake now, doesn't matter anymore," Zeb spoke up, reaching out to just push the person aside like he was just scooting an empty crate out of the way.

"Ezra!" Kanan took advantage of the clear path to hurry over to the bed.

"Kanan, Zeb." Ezra looked between both of them. "Does this mean I can leave? Where's everyone else?"

"Everyone else is waiting for you, they just didn't want to crowd in here, especially when they were telling us we needed to wait until you woke up," Kanan said, and Zeb snorted.

"I can sleep in my own bed," Ezra pointed out, starting to slide out of the med bay bed. Zeb reached to offer him a hand and he took it, not expecting to be pulled into a tight hug.

It was tight enough that it nearly winded him, even though he knew from experience Zeb was being gentle. There was a flash of memory with it, light and cold and being hugged close a lot like this.

"You carried me back to the ship," Ezra said, halfway between a question and a statement.

Zeb nodded, releasing him to stand on his own. "You weren't exactly up to walking yourself, wasn't sure if you were really awake for it."

"I don't remember much," Ezra admitted. "Not after finding out that the ship wasn't repairable."

"Probably for the best, eh? Doubt you want to remember laying around feeling awful," Zeb spoke casually enough, not sounding at all surprised by the lack of memories.

Ezra nodded, glancing around as he started to follow them out of the room. "Where are my clothes?"

"Already got them." Kanan reassured him.

Ezra tried to think if there was anything else he might be forgetting, when he stepped through the door and nearly ran into Hera. He stopped suddenly enough that he wobbled and might have stumbled if Zeb and Kanan hadn't each grabbed an arm to steady him at the same time.

"It's good to see you awake." Sabine was the first to speak up, reaching out to clasp Ezra's shoulder. "We were all worried about you."

"It'll take more than a stupid cough to take me out." Ezra grinned, and it was genuine even if he was already exhausted just from walking across the room. Seeing everyone there and concerned was a little embarrassing, but it also eased a tiny knot of worry that he wasn't even aware of until it lessened.

"The doctor briefed us on everything. You're off duty for the next several days and then we'll see after that. I don't want you pushing yourself." Hera smiled at him, and then started down the hall. Ezra watched for half a beat and then scrambled to follow.

"Yes, Captain." Ezra wanted to protest that he doubted it was going to take several days to get back to feeling normal. He was just a little tired.

Ezra was grateful it wasn't a long walk back to the ship. Chopper was waiting at the airlock, scolding him as soon as he was within earshot.

"Not now, Chop. I'm supposed to go rest. Doctor's orders." Ezra gave the droid's dome a fond pat, earning him an annoyed series of beeps.

By the time he made it to his room his legs were shaking and he eyed the ladder up to his bunk with annoyance.

"Need a boost?" Zeb didn't really wait for an answer, scooping him up like he didn't weight anything. Ezra would have protested on principle, but he wasn't entirely sure he could have made it up on his own if Zeb called his bluff.

"Thanks," Ezra said, trying not to sound like it was too grudging. "Don't know why I'm so exhausted."

"Maybe because you almost died?" Zeb's voice was rough. "The doctor told us your oxygen was dropping dangerously low when we got you to the ship."

"Oh," Ezra spoke softly, not entirely sure how to respond to that. "The doctor didn't really mention that. Just that I was fine now."

"Probably didn't want to worry you, but I know you'd want to hear the truth. You were there on that medical ship for close to a week with them fixing you up," Zeb said.

"Yeah, I do. Thanks. And, uh, sorry, if I scared you guys." Ezra stretched out on his bunk, relaxing at the familiar feel of the mattress.

"Wasn't worried." Zeb handed Ezra his blanket and Ezra spread it over himself gratefully.

"Uh huh, of course not." Ezra smiled, closing his eyes.

* * *

Ezra wasn't sure how long he slept, but he woke up feeling groggy and safe. He laid quietly, eyes still closed and taking in the comfortingly familiar feel of the ship. The barely audible thrum of the engines and small sounds that came from sharing a living space with other people were just white noise, and the metallic scent of the recycled filtered air was a back note to the musky scent of adult Lasat that clung to everything in the room no matter how much he'd tried to clean at first.

After several long moments a small sound caught his attention and Ezra opened his eyes, blinking at the ceiling of his bunk and then turning to look to find out what woke him up.

Kanan smiled, standing up from the seat he'd taken near the bunks. "I thought you might be waking up soon. How are you feeling?"

"Like I've slept too much or not enough. Or maybe both." Ezra yawned, sitting up and rubbing over his face.

"Hungry at all?" Kanan asked, and Ezra only had to think a moment before nodding.

"Yeah. Especially if it's something hot that actually tastes like food," Ezra said, hoping it wasn't something out of a ration pack.

"This should count." Kanan passed up a bowl and Ezra took it with curiosity that turned into pleased surprise. Since leaving Lothal he'd discovered a sweetened grain porridge he liked that made a frequent appearance in the larger Rebellion ship mess halls, and everyone else seemed to hate. Because of that it almost never got put on the resupply lists for the Ghost and he wasn't quite willing to put up with the teasing to push the issue.

Ezra wasted no time digging into the hot food. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, I wanted to apologize too." Kanan's tone got more serious at the last, and Ezra blinked.

"Apologize for what?" Ezra thought back, but he couldn't think of any reason Kanan should have to apologize. They got into the whole mess with the crash on their own.

"Zeb told me that you didn't think we'd be looking for you," Kanan said.

"Oh. But you did," Ezra pointed out, trying to think back. Things were hazy, he knew he'd argued for getting themselves off the planet without relying on rescue, but he couldn't remember if he said out loud that he didn't think the rest of the Ghost crew would come after them.

"We did, but you never should have had a reason to doubt that," Kanan sounded guilty and Ezra bit his lip.

"It's ok. Look, I mean sometimes things happen and you have to think of the big picture, right? I understand." Ezra tried to reassure him.

"And I can be wrong about that. Sometimes when I'm worried I talk about giving up because I know I'm going to be overruled and outvoted. And… that's not right. I can make mistakes, and if I hadn't gone back for you, this time or any other time, including the first time we met, it would have been a huge mistake. Holocron or no holocron." Kanan reached out awkwardly to pat at Ezra's shoulder and Ezra caught his hand, squeezing it.

"I… thanks," Ezra said quietly.

"No matter what happens, I'm not ever going to decide to just leave you behind," Kanan said with a lot more surety, and Ezra felt his eyes unexpectedly stinging. He found the sensation, managing a weak grin.

"I'll hold you to that," Ezra said.

"Yeah." Kanan said, then took a slightly lighter tone. "Just try not to test that too often? This time was way too close. Didn't help that shortly after we handed you over the medical ship was forced to make a jump and no one had bothered to tell us there were now multiple jump destinations. It was supposed to temporarily scatter the fleet and make it safer in case one section got discovered. Instead it nearly gave us all heart attacks when we came out and your ship wasn't there."

"You can't blame that one on me," Ezra protested. "I don't even remember it."

"Uh huh," Kanan sounded doubtful, but the small smile gave away that he was teasing.

"And not like I'm going anywhere for the next few days either," Ezra pointed out.

"That's true. If you need anything just let someone know?" Kanan offered and Ezra nodded, passing him the empty bowl.

"I will." Ezra watched him turn, heading towards the door. "And Kanan?" Ezra waited for the pause. "Thanks." He knew Kanan would know what he meant.

"You're welcome," Kanan said. "And get..."

"Some rest? Don't worry." Ezra yawned. He wasn't looking forward to sleeping the next few days away, especially after he'd been out for a week. But he felt better, he felt safe, and he was home. That was all that really mattered.


End file.
